Ian Snodin: Everton's Europa League test is tough - but it could have been tougherOPINION BY IAN SNODIN
Everton will be looking forward to their game against Young Boys of Berne
Nyon in Switzerland was the place to be on Monday lunchtime.
The UEFA headquarters was the venue for the Europa League and Champions League draws and as you would expect, three of the biggest names in European football were there.
Emilio Butrageuno was there representing Real Madrid, as was Juventus legend Pavel Nedved – and, of course, Ian Snodin was there representing Everton Football Club!
In all seriousness, I was thrilled to be present at the draw along with club secretary Dave Harrison. It was a real honour to be asked to represent the club at such a prestigious occasion, and it’s fair to say we were both satisfied with the outcome.
You can’t show any emotion when the draw is being made, but beforehand Dave and myself had listed the clubs we wouldn’t mind drawing and the clubs we didn’t want to face.
There were a few long Russian trips, one to Ukraine and a couple to Turkey which would have been demanding for the players.
But having just made the hour-and-a-half flight to Switzerland, as soon as Young Boys of Berne came out of the hat myself and Dave looked at each other and nodded.
It won’t be easy, that’s for sure. Young Boys’ home record has been outstanding this season and, of course, they play on an artificial pitch which may give them even more of an advantage at the Stade de Suisse.
But the key to the tie is that the second leg will be at Goodison Park.
I think we can go to Switzerland and secure a good result, but we know we have the safety net of a second leg to come at Goodison should anything go wrong out there.
The Swiss side plays in a compact stadium with a 32,000 capacity and, given how close Switzerland is, that could give our fans a headache.
I think UEFA rules state that five per cent of the stadium’s capacity must be given over to away fans.
My ‘O’ level maths isn’t great, but to me that works out at just 1,600 tickets.
I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see something in the region of 6-8,000 Evertonians making that trip.
All of those factors go through your mind when the draw is being made, and while Young Boys will pose a good test, it could have been a lot tougher.
But before any of you get the wrong idea and think that my Swiss trip was some kind of glamorous jaunt ... can I just point out that we had to be at Liverpool Airport for 5.30am on Monday morning, we spent the entire day at UEFA headquarters in Nyon, and then arrived back at Liverpool Airport at quarter to 10 on Monday night.
Just as the final whistle was blowing about 10 miles away at Goodison Park!
The first thing I did was head straight to Goodison where I was filled in on everything that happened and then I headed home to catch up with the highlights and see exactly what had happened for myself.
Perfect end to a perfect day!
Ross can be as good as he wants to beI have been saying for years that Ross Barkley is one of English football’s best attacking midfielders.
Not a number six, not a holding player, but a midfielder who will do his best work behind a striker.
After his performance on Monday against QPR now I’m not so sure.
Ross was assured, disciplined, won plenty of tackles and drove forward magnificently – most notably for the stunning goal which broke the deadlock. I think the bottom line is that Ross is just a top quality footballer and the more lessons he learns the more he looks capable of adjusting to whatever role he is given.
Ross has all the attributes to be pretty much whatever he wants to be.
Best wishes to KevinAt the time of writing there has been no official confirmation about Kevin Mirallas’ injury, but the initial reaction appears to be positive.
I certainly hope so because Kevin has shown his importance since recovering from the hamstring injury which sidelined him for a couple of months.
He offers pace, goal threat and a great work ethic and if we are without him for any period of time it would be a major blow.
His injury was the only downside to a positive night against QPR. People point out that they had lost eight away games in a row prior to their Goodison trip , but those runs have to end somewhere and it was to our credit that it wasn’t on Monday.
